


Thursdays

by jesus-otaku (amiraculousladybug)



Category: Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sophie takes her job as cleaning lady seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 07:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6557467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiraculousladybug/pseuds/jesus-otaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Howl really does not want to let Sophie clean his room.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thursdays

**Author's Note:**

> I've read the book more than I've seen the movie, but I really love the movie too so I hope this captures the spirit of the movie.

Howl _knew_ she cleaned on Thursdays.

Sophie knew that he knew she cleaned on Thursdays. She warned him every week. And yet, every week, he put up this ridiculous fight.

“I'm not getting any younger standing here,” she pointed out to the well-dressed wizard. She readjusted her grip on her feather duster and shifted her arm to better hold the dustpan tucked underneath.

“Neither am I,” Howl retorted. He had draped himself elegantly across the doorway to his room, blocking the way for Sophie. And he was absolutely refusing to move. “You know the rules, Sophie dear.”

She rolled her eyes. Yes, Howl had insisted upon a bargain long ago: she was to let him keep his room however he liked it, in exchange for her right to clean the rest of the castle as she saw fit. Even if that meant getting rid of his beloved spiders or moving around the potions on the bathroom shelf. All the same … “That hardly qualifies as rules,” she informed him, drawing herself up as much as she could manage—which wasn't much compared to Howl, considering how much taller than her he was. “Aside from which I never agreed to your silly bargain in the first place.”

Howl gave a rather dramatic sigh. “You are an insufferable woman,” he remarked.

“I don't want to hear that from you.” Sophie nudged him with her foot. “Now go on, get out of the doorway and let me through. I want to finish cleaning before suppertime.”

“I have a right to live in filth if I want to,” Howl insisted, but she could tell she was winning the argument. He had shifted his weight so that he was no longer sprawled across the entire doorway; she could easily slip past him now if she wanted to.

“You have a right to live in filth for now,” Sophie corrected him. She gestured to the ring on her left hand. “But seeing as you'll be making good on this in short order, you may as well get accustomed to having a clean room sooner than later.”

The trick worked: Howl finally slinked out of the doorway and allowed her in. The engagement ring was her trump card. Whenever Howl was being particularly stubborn, all she had to do was bring it up and he would almost always cave. “Thank you,” she said to him as she headed into his room.

Howl caught her by the arm and tugged her back. “Not so fast, Sophie dear. I'd like payment for allowing you in there.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, get on with it, then. What will it be this time? Going to market for strange substances again? A lavish supper with Cesari's for dessert?”

“This will be enough,” said Howl, and he leaned down to kiss her once before releasing her. “Mind the spiders.”

 


End file.
